紐時賞析／颶風強襲後 牙買加太陽能發電成效顯現

牙買加寶藏海灘一座房屋因颶風梅莉莎侵襲受損，但屋頂安裝的太陽能板完好無損。紐約時報

After Jamaica's Disastrous Storm, Solar Power Is a Bright Spot

颶風強襲後 牙買加太陽能發電成效顯現

The morning after Hurricane Melissa tore through Jamaica, Jennifer Hue, a retired tax auditor living close to hard-hit Treasure Beach, woke up to devastation from 180 mph winds. There was water everywhere.

梅莉莎颶風肆虐牙買加後的第二個早晨，住在重災區寶藏海灘附近的退休稅務稽覈員珍妮佛．休伊醒來時發現周遭被時速180英里的陣風破壞，到處都是積水。

But her roof was intact and so were the solar panels she had installed two years ago. Most of her neighbors didn’t have electricity. But she did.

不過，她的屋頂完好無損，兩年前安裝的太陽能板也是。她的鄰居大多數無電可用，但她有。

“The wind was like a tornado, and water came through every crevice,” Hue said. “But we didn’t lose any solar panels, and the next morning, the sun was shining bright and early,” she said. “We had our power back.”

休伊說：「風就像龍捲風一樣，水從每個縫隙灌進來，但我們一片太陽能板都沒損壞，隔天早上太陽又早早升起，光照耀得很亮，我們的電力也恢復了。」

A small but vibrant market for rooftop solar panels in Jamaica has long been seen as a promising way to wean the nation off imported fossil fuels. The country is reliant on oil and gas from abroad for its power plants, which not only is polluting but also makes Jamaica’s electricity some of the priciest in the world per kilowatt-hour.

牙買加屋頂太陽能發電市場小但充滿活力，長期以來被認爲是該國擺脫依賴進口化石燃料前景看好的途徑。該國仰賴海外進口石油和天然氣，供發電廠發電。這不僅造成污染，也使牙買加電價成爲全球每度電價格最貴的國家之一。

But now, solar power is also seen as a way for Jamaica and other nations in one of the world’s most hurricane-prone regions to become more resilient to ever-intensifying storms.

如今，太陽能也被視爲牙買加及其他位於全球颶風多發區國家，面對日益強烈風暴時提升韌性的一種方式。

Rooftop solar has grown significantly in Jamaica over the past decade, from less than 1.4 megawatts in 2015 to nearly 65 megawatts in 2023, a significant amount for a small island, experts say.

專家指出，過去10年牙買加的屋頂太陽能發電快速成長，從2015年不到1.4百萬瓦，增加至2023年的近65百萬瓦，對一個小島國而言相當可觀。

The hope is that growth will start to cut down on Jamaica’s dependence on imported oil and liquefied natural gas, which is shipped in tankers to the island nation, at a time when ports, refineries, power plants and transmission lines are becoming vulnerable to extreme weather worsened by a warming planet.

人們期望這種成長能減少牙買加對進口石油與液化天然氣的依賴，這些需經由油輪運抵島上；而在暖化加劇的情況下，港口、煉油廠、發電廠與輸電線路正愈來愈容易受到極端天氣威脅。

Wide swaths of the country remain without electricity after Hurricane Melissa hit Jamaica as a Category 5 storm last week, killing at least 32 people and destroying an untold number of buildings and homes.

5級強度的梅莉莎颶風上週襲牙買加後，造成至少32人死亡、無數建築物和房屋被破壞，牙買加大片地區仍無電可用。

The solar panels must survive the high winds, of course. Jason Robinson, who runs Solar Buzz, an installer based in Kingston, Jamaica’s capital, has been surveying the damage this past week, navigating roads on the west side of the island strewed with downed trees and power lines. “With nearly 200 mph winds, you’re in the universe’s hands,” Robinson said.

當然，太陽能板必須經得起強風的考驗。羅賓森經營總部位於牙買加首都京斯敦的太陽能板安裝商。他過去一週一直在勘察災情，在這座島國西部的道路穿梭，這裡散落倒塌的樹木和電線。羅賓森說：「風速接近時速200英里，一切只能聽天由命。」

But so far, none of his nearly 300 clients have reported extensive damage, he said.

他說，但目前爲止，他的近300名客戶還沒有人通報遭受大規模災損。

文／Hiroko Tabuchi，譯／羅方妤

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